Someone “who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing”?

That phrase, uttered by Lord Darlington in Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan, has been going through my mind of late.*

I’ve been thinking of it, because as a freelancer, I often have to quote fees. Anyone who knows me knows how much I hate selling myself, so you can imagine what kind of torture that side of things is!

I’ve been talking to other freelancers and they’ve made me realize that I’m constantly underpricing myself, forgetting the value that I bring.

It’s so obvious, of course, that it’s the who that adds the value, not the what. Yet, it’s so easy to forget.

None of us are blank canvases performing tasks – our experiences, our personalities, bring something different to those tasks.

To only look at the cost of something is to miss the big picture. I know I’m not the only one who’s made false economies over the years, buying cheap shoes I have to re-buy every few months rather than investing in something durable.

Likewise, as I up my rates, I can only hope that clients and prospects will see me as a good investment!

Anyway, on a different note, here’s an attempt at selling myself – does it make you think of my value or price? 😉

*Ever since the conservatives came to power, it’s been used to disparage austerity measures. One of my friends, Dan Bye, even created an excellent one-man show tangentially about that called “The Price of Everything”.